Quotable Country – 03/02/14 Edition

I’m so excited to be putting everything I love onto the pages of my new book. ●– – Martina McBride on her upcoming book of barroom hustles and jiu jitsu moves recipes.

I don’t know, but I will say that I definitely want to be in the Hall of Fame. I’ve been doing this a long time and I deserve to be there. If I’m not there this year, I guess I’ll cry. […] I want to be there, but I can’t make that happen. It’s not like there’s a political move you can do. I asked my producer friend how I could do this and he said “You just live your life the way you’ve been doing and it’ll happen.” ●– – Ronnie Milsap (to Juli Thanki) on his Country Music Hall of Fame chances.

We’re such honky-tonkers at heart and love traditional country music. No matter how far Blake bends or does other stuff, the guy really loves country music. ●– – Dierks Bentley on Blake Shelton.

My ultimate fear is … I’ve had friends tell me that their kids didn’t know who Garth Brooks was, and that upsets me. I don’t like that. I think it’s because kids are walking around with their iPhones and their iPods, and if they can’t get it on there, then they probably don’t know it exists. ●– – Meanwhile, Blake Shelton campaigns to get Garth Brooks to rethink being a digital holdout.

What I loved about being a woman in country music was there was something for everybody. There were a handful of us, probably 10 of us that were doing really, really well, but we were all a little bit different and I always thought it was easier. People always said it’s so hard for a woman, but it’s easier because if you were a guy back in the 90’s you had two choices: You either wore the hat or you didn’t. So it was hard to distinguish yourself. As a woman it was easy because your image could be so completely whatever you wanted it to be. It was an awesome time to be a woman in the business. ●– – Trisha Yearwood on being a country woman of the ’90s.

It’s about making a great record, about making something you feel proud of, making something that sort of purges you emotionally. If it doesn’t purge you emotionally, then you’re not gonna have the reaction you want from the fans who listen to it. Because music has to be cathartic, and all art is about purging your emotions. […] I mean, that’s why people enjoy [a great record] and that’s why people go to a movie, ’cause they can cry and they feel better about crying after they come out. ●– – Tim McGraw, who has not failed to make me cry with recent entries “Truck Yeah” and “Lookin’ for That Girl.” Bitter, bitter tears.

Nickelback: You know it’s coming. Bro-country is nothing if not lukewarm Nickelback. Florida Georgia Line on “Rock Star” and Cole Swindell on “Photograph.” ●– – HitFix’s Melinda Newman offers “5 rock acts ripe for country music tribute albums.” With Motley Crue and Doobie Brothers albums already in the works, it’s only a matter of time…

Well, we started it because we felt like, we had another event called the Grand Ole Opry Birthday Week, but really there was nothing precisely for radio. There really wasn’t a lot of interaction, it was a lot of partying, which now has come again. But our initial reaction was to see if we could have a forum for radio people to get together to discuss their problems and solutions. Remember, it’s the Country Radio Seminar, which connotes it’s going to be a seminar to learn. We really wanted it to be very academic. We didn’t want parties, we didn’t want showcases, and for a lot of years there was none of that. ●– – ‘Mayor of Music Row’ Charlie Monk on the noble origins of Country Radio Seminar.

That’s how it’s always been. Every wave of new artists bring their influences and their favorite music to the table. We have guys coming up who are more traditional, and that’s fine. I love that stuff. But it’s not necessarily what I want to go out and perform every night for an hour and a half. […] The thing is, if everyone was traditional and everyone was recording the same stuff, it would get boring after a while. I think it’s cool to have people bring their own influences to country music, whether its rock, pop, R&B, the blues or whatever is doable. It’s what makes everybody different. ●– – Jason Aldean on new sounds in country.

When people ask those questions I’m like “are you serious? It’s 2014.” People can do what they want to do. Why don’t they talk about that with Eminem? I feel like what they’re asking me is about the color of my skin. There’s so many black women who’ve done what I’m doing. Look at Elizabeth Cotten. There’s not a damn thing new. […] You’d be surprised how many black folks love roots music and country music. They tell me stories that they used to listen to country music with their grandparents as kids and my music reminds them of those experiences. It’s really rewarding to be here where I am at in the world and not let anyone tell me what I can and can’t do. ●– – Valerie June on the suggestion that her image somehow conflicts with her sound.

One issue, [Robert K. Oermann] thinks, is that the country industry is essentially “programmed by men for women that they think are dumb. Country music is so much more than those 10 songs you hear over and over on the radio. It’s broader, it’s wider, it’s deeper and it’s smarter.” ●– – Robert K. Oermann, ladies and gentlemen.

It’s an honest song. And a lot of times in country music, as singers, we try to … well, honesty doesn’t necessarily sell. You know, what sells is always going to be fun and party time and rock ‘n’ roll. ●– – Dierks Bentley.

You know, Nashville’s a factory town. It’s a little community. It’s opened its doors to outsiders a lot more in the past ten years than it ever did before, but you’re gonna get the same kinda stuff when it’s written by the same 15 or 20 songwriters, and the same players. It’s gonna sound alike. ●– – Gerry House to The Boot. His new book, out Tuesday, is Country Music Broke My Brain.

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Comments

It’s funny that Jason Aldean talks about things getting boring if everyone recorded the same thing, considering that’s exactly what he and his bro-country hacks are foisting on all of us — over and over again, even.

Not that I expected him to be smart enough — or self-aware enough — to see that, but I thought it deserved to be pointed out.

I was sad to learn the other week that my 15-year-old sister who claims to like country music a lot had never heard of Garth Brooks. My dad introduced her to him and played her a few of his hits and she liked “The Dance”, because it wasn’t so twangy. Ugh.

My kids don’t have a clue who Garth Brooks is, aside from (probably) “That dude that makes Mommy yell at KKYX before cursing and changing the radio station.” I’m kinda proud of that. They do know who George Strait, George Jones, Waylon Jennings, et al are, so I am comfortable they can recognize talent over marketing.

Argh, it’s the old “if everyone sang traditional country, life would be boring” strawman defense.

Here’s the thing: virtually no one thinks that traditional country should be the only country music allowed to get airplay. Rather, it’s the complete lack of balance that’s the problem, where more traditional styles of country aren’t even allowed a seat at the table. In fact, the sameness that Jason Aldean speaks of is exactly what the problem is with mainstream country today, in which songs have to fit into extremely narrow parameters (both sonically and lyrically) to even have a chance of being a big hit.